March 2012

03/26/2012

Hi Readers! Hope you are all enjoying our early spring! I know I have been. In fact, these sunny, 80 degree days come at a great time for me since my main squeeze is in Hong Kong and India for three weeks for his MAP project. Hmm…I just realized that I don’t know what MAP stands for. I know that it is what the Ross students spend the last quarter of their first year working on and that it seems kind of like a mini-internship but before I just start making up the rest of it, here’s the official description from Ross with much more detail. In any case, many students get to travel for the project and Dave, “my student”, gets to go to the other side of the globe! Neither of us have been to India or Hong Kong, so I can’t wait for him to get back and tell me all about it. Hopefully he took some photos. Dave, are you reading this? Take some photos! Like this:

I am really excited for him to have this opportunity but of course I miss him a lot, too. It’s no fun being apart for three weeks! But, luckily, many of the other Partners are going through the same thing so we have been keeping each other company here. We have had some Partners Club happy hours and other get togethers which are fun anyway but especially nice when the students are away. It’s is really nice to chat with the other partners who understand exactly what you are going through! The Partners are doing the Big House Big Heart race together as a club in April, so it’s been awesome that it is so gorgeous out so that we can train outside! Well, kind of awesome. It’s made me realize just how out of shape I am in and now instead of giving up because it’s raining I have no excuse to skip out on an after-work jog.

Is this picture of the Taj Mahal making you crave some garlic naan like I am right now? I am having trouble focusing on anything else. Maybe I will grab some Indian take out tonight in honor of my beloved. My favorite place for Indian in Ann Arbor has to be Raja Rani. So good! I have to admit I am no expert on Indian cuisine, but I love love love it! Plus, as a vegetarian, there are always so many more options on the menu for me which means less haggling with my waiter for an entrée with 20 substitutions…oh, you can’t 86 the bacon, sub shrimp for chicken and add a side of sour cream? And walking into Raja Rani on a cold dark night is like a mini-vacation. It’s so bright and welcoming. Even the website and is pretty and exotic! Half the dining room in the old colonial-style house-turned-restaurant faces out toward the street, over a wrap-around veranda so as soon as you walk in, you don’t feel like you are in Kansas anymore (well, Michigan).

I should also mention Shalimar on Main Street. It’s very good as well, though it couldn’t quite match the charm of Raja Rani. What other Indian places are good in Ann Arbor, for take out or dine in? I want to hear your suggestions!

03/14/2012

At GBR, I remember hearing how busy the MBA students would be once the program started, between schoolwork and a social life. Since my husband is part of the Erb program, I wondered if it would be the same hectic schedule as the typical MBA student.

First, let me provide a brief insight into the curriculum for the Erb student. Typically the student begins his or her first year with coursework at the SNRE (School of Natural Resources and Environment) and a few classes at Ross. In the student’s second year, he or she officially kick starts the MBA by joining a section and participating in the core curriculum. I won’t lie –Jimmy has been crazy busy this first year. Between classes, studying, extra-curricular and social activities, there’s a lot going on. But I will say that somehow in the midst of this busy schedule, we have been lucky to have actively created chances for normalcy in our schedule and Erb is great about including partners in its events.

Partners are invited to a night of the Erb Orientation at Professor Tom Gladwin’s barn; I was able to meet other partners and Jimmy’s fellow classmates over delicious Michigan beer and good local grub. Some events are planned by the program such as the Erb Banquet and Erb Holiday Party. These events are great because as a partner you have the opportunity to get to know your partner’s classmates, teachers, advisors, etc. Most other events are put on by the students themselves. Student events range from a Thanksgiving potluck to Erb Camping to a West Coast vs. East Coast ‘90s rap party  This past February, the Ross Ski Club planned a ski trip to Boyne Mountain in Boyne, MI. We were unsure about going but ended up sharing a cottage with six other Erbers whom we did not know well and we had a blast! It was the type of weekend that left me feeling like I was definitely part of a special group and has made me look forward to all the fun events to come!

03/06/2012

Almost exactly one year ago my husband, Robin, got "the call" from someone in the Ross Admissions office letting him know he'd been admitted to the class of 2013. Like many of his classmates who also applied in Round 2, he was notified on Monday, March 7. However, unlike many of them, he didn't have his phone in his pocket or even anywhere he could easily check it to see whether he'd missed a call (and believe me, he knew calls were being made, thanks to the admissions blogs).

It's not that Robin wasn't stressed out or anxious about whether he'd gotten in, it's just that at the time we were living in New Orleans, and it was the day before Mardi Gras. Everyone around us had one M.O.: laissez les bon temps rouler.﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿ There were parades to see, beads to catch, and cocktails to be enjoyed. It was the perfect distraction from admissions angst, and so when someone from area code 734 called, they got his voicemail.

One of my friends whose husband went through the business school admissions process a couple of years before we did told me that the week her husband knew he'd be hearing from a number of schools about whether he'd been admitted they went to the Caribbean. They figured it'd be pretty hard to get too upset about him not getting in somewhere while snorkeling and enjoying the sandy beaches in a beautiful location; I thought that was sound logic. We didn't plan to be in New Orleans during the biggest party of the year when Robin started hearing from schools, but I'm really glad we were. The good times were going to roll regardless of what the Admissions offices had to say.

Unfortunately Fat Tuesday fell in the middle of finals this year. I'd hoped we could put up our Mardi Gras lights and have our Ross buddies over for gumbo and Sazeracs, but the party was put on hold until next February. I was pretty disappointed, until I went to the grocery store and found this:

It may not have been the same as celebrating Mardi Gras on St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans, but it was still pretty sweet.